the life of a health nut

Tag Archives: kids

I heard that this month is National Childhood Obesity Month when I was browsing online for nothing related to that topic but it sparked my interest. I did a little more research and found some interesting pieces of information.

President Barack Obama declared September 2013 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, encouraging Americans to get involved in promoting healthy eating and physical activity for our kids nationwide.

Obesity affects millions of American children and teenagers, putting them at risk for serious health issues, such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Rates of childhood obesity—after exponentially increasing over the last three decades—are holding steady and even decreasing in some areas.

“During National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, let us build on this momentum and strengthen the trend toward healthier lifestyles and brighter futures for our Nation’s children,” The President said in a proclamation released August 30th, 2013.

Let’s Move! continues to extend a call to action to get everyone involved in overcoming this epidemic. The First Lady remains dedicated to working together to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition.

“We all share in the responsibility of helping our Nation’s children enjoy longer, healthier lives,” said President Obama. “Together, we can give them the energy and confidence to learn, excel, and pursue their dreams.”

(me, about age 13)

Growing up as an overweight child has impacted my whole life, and I think that is why I am so passionate about health overall. I remember being called thunder thighs in middle school by a group of boys, I remember not being able to participate fully in PE class, or even worse – skipping it, I remember never liking what I saw in pictures, I remember eating candy bars and muffins for meals. That is just not a quality way to grow up. I don’t blame my parents but in a way I do feel they should have felt a little bit of responsibility. As a parent or guardian you need to put your child’s health in your own hands just like you would if they had a life threatening disease. Obesity kills. It is often a slow death, but in the end the choices a parent and their child make early on can impact the overall health of a little one.

I know there are many issues involved in a child being overweight or obese but if we as a country, city, town or community take steps to teach kids how to take small steps to be healthier everyone will benefit!